CRGE.OBB: Pump and dump?

My father decended into dementia over a period of years. In this process, he got taken advantage of by every mail con available. Two years after taking care of his affairs and switching his mailing address to ours, he still receives mail for miracle cures, hot stock investments, etc., -- the same types of cons that wiped out his savings.

Therefore, I am starting this blog to inform any and all of some of these cons so that you can be on the alert for some of these in case your mother or father is getting these in the mail.

I am in the financial field, so the stock "tips" are particularly irratating. Today's "hot stock" tip comes from "M3 Profit Accelerator," which is signed by "Shawn Ambrosino" who claims to be an analyst. You can find the Internet equivalent at http://www.smallcapfortunes.com/clenergen-3-29/index.html.

The stock that they are promoting is Clenergen Corp (CRGE) [formerly American Bonanza Resources]. Now the first clue that something is amiss is that they provide the ticker, but not the extension that indicates that it is on the OTC Bulletin Board. If you check this company out at the SEC web site, www.sec.gov, you will see that company has no revenues, minor expenses, and no cash flow. In its form as American Bonanza Resources, it appeared to be a company without any activity. CRGE shows some signs of life (mostly through a recent recapitalization), but at www.sec.gov you will see that it is late in its required financial filing for this fiscal period.

The brochure has lots of facts and figures, but nothing concrete about the company. Hype and no substance. Classic.

You can subscribe to their newletter for $2,395 for two years. What a deal. The authors are also experts on lots of other subjects. Trinity Investment Research, incorporated in Florida (which is a giveaway because FL provides cloaking), is at the same address [103 NE 4th St. Delray Beach FL] (and owners) as 32 other companies, including Best Life Herbals, Natures Perfection, and Premier Turf. There is no evidence that any of the parties to these 32 companies (the threesome: Kyle Hodges, Alison Kacurov, and Brian Sodi) have financial experience or financial education. None show up at FINRA.org.

Shawn Ambrosino claims to be an analyst. If you check him out on the website for one of the "associated" newsletters, www.bestlife-herbals/about/, you will see that he claims to have been a professional wrestler and now edits a health magazine.

The company involved recently with CRGE's unregistered securities is Vastani Trading Company, which is a company incorporated in Germany. Ownership of the company is not clear.

The CEO of the Florida subsidiary of CRGE, is Robert D. Kohn [6165 NW 123rd, Coral Springs, FL], who is also listed on a large number of other businesses incorporated in Florida. These business are not necessarily in the same line of business as CRGE.

The stock of CRGE.OBB is trading around 93 cents per share. If you go to finance.google.com or finance.yahoo.com and check out the trading, you will see the spikes in the price (as high as $1.20) when they ship these newsletters out.

Financial facts about CRGE:

Year end Oct 2009

• Revenues = $0
• General, selling and administrative expenses = $1.072 million
• Research and development = $0
• Net loss = -$1.072 million
• Total assets = $63 thousand
• Shareholders' equity = -$488 thousand
• Cash flow from operations = -$899 thousand
  

Be careful out there. If a company does not have revenues and a company that purports to be doing research has no R&D, there is no reason to get into the stock. Think you want to play the pump and dump and can figure out when to get in or out? Think again -- the market maker(s) for the stock control all.

Some further clues. Check out the disclaimer at www.bestpennystockbroker.com (bold added):
"IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This featured company sponsored advertising issue of The M3 Profit Accelerator does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by The M3 Profit Accelerator or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Enhance Skin Products, (EHSK), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Medford Financial Ltd to provide public awareness for EHSK. Medford Financial Ltd has approved and signed off as “approved for public dissemination” all statements made herein regarding EHSK’s history, assets, technologies, current as well as prospective business operations and industry information. The M3 Profit Accelerator and Capital Financial Media (CFM) have used outside research and writers using public information to create the advertisement coming from The M3 Profit Accelerator about EHSK. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, The M3 Profit Accelerator, its publisher (Trinity Investment Research) and CFM makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. The M3 Profit Accelerator is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. CFM has received and managed a total production budget of $550,000 for this and other online advertising efforts and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The M3 Profit Accelerator is paid $1500 as an editorial fee from CFM and also expects to receive new subscriber revenue as a result of this advertising effort. *More information can be received from Enhance Skin Product’s investor relations firm, or at the Enhance Skin Product’s website www.enhanceskinproducts.com. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like EHSK, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Enhance Skin Products notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the size and growth of the market, the Company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures, technology issues etc. "

The fine print is always important. Note that Capital Media, Trinity Publishing, and M3 Profit Accelerator are all run by the same folks.